Rolling Meadows Library director resigning little more than a year after his hiring
A little more than a year after taking the helm at the Rolling Meadows Library, Executive Director Kevin Medows is stepping down.
In an interview Monday, Medows cited personal reasons for the forthcoming resignation, but also a possible career redirection after some three decades of working in libraries.
He was hired for the $156,018 job in May 2022, after a search and interview process by the library board. That was prompted by the retirement of David Ruff, who was library director for 21 years.
Medows' last day is tentatively Oct. 6, but library board President Jean Threadgill called a special meeting for Tuesday night to discuss next steps, including appointment of an interim director and restarting the hiring process for a new director.
"I wish that we would've had another director for another 20 years, but sometimes things for various reasons don't work out," Threadgill said.
"All in all, the library's in good shape," added Threadgill, who has been on the board since 1992. "And no matter what changes take place, we're going to be just fine."
Medows didn't have an employment contract with the board, and was considered an at-will employee.
He started his career working in music collections at Indiana University, the University of Illinois and Northwestern University. Then he began working at public libraries, making stops along the way in Northbrook, at the Warren-Newport Public Library in Gurnee, Joliet (where he was executive director from 2013 to 2016), the Ela Area Public Library in Lake Zurich and Mount Prospect.